Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-13
IN THE DENVER STAGE.

Ten Years ago the excitement Of the day
in Denver, Colo, reached its climax. when
Capt. Bill Cummings drove the LeadvIlle
coach out of the stable yard and pulled up
in front of the United States hotel In
anticipation IF the Grea; daily event a
crowd always began I" gather an hour or
two before the time set for the stages
departure. To pass the time pleasantly.
the crowd tall of whom wore big sluuch
hats and carried pistols speculated on the
chances Of the stages getting Ia its des;i-
nation and told wild stories Of the last
time Capt, Bill had been held up" and
how much the express company had lost
when the highwaymen broke open the box
after killing the messenger IL was at
this time Of day when the bar did its big
gest business. snd if any one among the
crowd let il he known that he was an ad-
venturOus traveller, and intended making
the trip To Ieadville. he was straightway
assailcd on all sides by invitations To try
the United States best whisky. and ad-
vice was showered on him as to how he
should behave in case the stage should
suddenly come To Il halt, and the cry of
Hold up your hands, gentlemen" should
sound i'll the night air.
the stage always left Denver in the
afternoon, because by 50 doing the country
Immediately surrounding the city, which
was considered comparatively safe. could
he traversed during the hours OF dark, and
the hours Of daylight could be utilized to
pass through those mountain gorges and
ravines where danger lurked behind every
bowlder. and around any curve OF which a
gang Of heavily armed and masked men
ha
of their valuables, and 10 use their
weapons If the slightest resistance was
offered.
AL this is changed now The United
States hotel has been relegated TO the
place of a second class hostelry. There
are now no crowds about its doors. and
only an occasional prospector from the
hills. whose hard luck has forced him to
return TO the big city TO renew his stock Of
provisions, can he seen about its deserted
halls with his feet resting against the
big stove meditatiyely expectorating to-
bacco juice on the sandcd floor. The |
glories of the old stage are also passed. 1t !
IS saved from destruction, however, by
some of the old settlers who still have u !
pride in il for the sake of the dangers il /
has passed. When the railroad 10 Lead |
vile was completed and the stage route |
had TO be abandoned, these men bought |
the stage. They built stable for il |
down on Carmine street, and there il |
stands today forgotten by every body eX- |
cept the few who pay for its keep. and by |
Capt. Bill, who used TO sit proudly on |
the box and steer il through dangers, the |
thought of which would turn All ordinary |
mans hair gray.
A short time ago, while in Denver | |
was taken 10 the stable and shown the !
old stage. II is not much 10 look at now. |
The paint has been Worn of the sides, |
and the leather curtains, which used To |
be neatly rolled up. now hang down ami !
flap in the wind. While |, with |
my guide, a member Of congress, stood look
ing at the old stage and trying TO
imagine some of the scenes through which
il had passed. the stable door opened |
and an old man entered. Although the |
new conner long beard was gray and the |
hair which hung far down on his shoul |
tiers from under his broad sombrero WAS
white. he moved with such an easy
swinging carriage and stood so erect that
he appeared some fifteen or twenty years
younger than he really was. What could |
be seen of his face was tanned by constant |
exposure to a color which much rcSembled |
we'll cured alligator skin. His eyes were
a very light blue and had a very peculiar
way of peeping out from the wrinkles in |
which they were set. as though he We're
on the lookout for something sensational.
After / had seen the look Of affection
which he cast al the old stage ! was not |
surprised when my friend introduced him
as Capt. Bill Cummings, the famous
driver. At first Cummings seemed dis
inclined 10 talk, and appeared to think
that my questions We're prompted solely
by idle curiosity, but after a while he re-
Tented. He climbed up 10 his old place on
the box. where he had passed through SO
many dangers, and after politely waving |
my friend and myself TO a couple of empty |
barrels which stood in one corner of the
stable he began to talk
yes he said. this old stage has seen |
many fight. and been through lots Of |
dangers. but the toughest time il ever had |
was in 10 and -. In those years the
hills between here and Leadville We're in
tested BY the worst gang Of stage robbers |
that were ever known i'll this region. II |
was not that they We're any worse than
other gangs, but they were under the |
leadership of a man whose devilish cum
ming was such that il seemed impossible
10 CORNER Ulul OT even W ilIlu bui eAdClIN |
who he was. He tried i; on once too |
often, however, and when his identity was |
made known after his death it turned the
whole city of Denver upside down for a
week There was at that time business |
house on Laramie street, where all the |
miners went to get their supplies. The |
head Of it Was one Of our most enterpris- |
ing citizens and generally respected and |
aI IN His "
Townsend. 1t had been reported that |
some Of the stage robbers had been heard |
to call their leader Amos, but no one |
ever dreamt of connecting the famous |
desperate and the respected mer- |
chant together. One night just be |
fore the stage was TO leave Denver | was
taken aside 10y friend and was told 10
take particular care. as one of my passen- |
gers was going TO Leadville 10 purchase |
some mining properties and had a small |
fortune in his belt. The would be mine |
owner was pointed ont to me. He was a
young fellow with quiet, determined ap-
pearance. who seemed well able 10 take
care Of himself. Besides him there was
only one other inside passenger. whom l
took To be tenderfoot from his nervous
manner and the absence Of any weapons
about him. The two express guards and
myself were the Onlyene outside. AS we
were driving down Laramie street l hap
pened to see Mr.. Townsend standing near
the store and | saw him nod to some one
inside. but took il 10 be passing fare
well 10 the young II an who vas going To
buy the mines. had not much IL say To
my passengers, and took them 10 be
about as uIG,ociable a lot n had ever car
ried. Each seemed 10 attend strictly to
his own business. and it was only at long
intervals that heard their voices as they
talked To each other.
'.On the evening of the second day we
had got well into the mountains. and
when We drove up 10 Banks Station,
where We took supper and changed horses.